NEWARK

 It’s a happening place

The Garden State’s largest metropolis, Newark blossoms mere miles from New York City.  Newark shines even in New York’s shadow.  It offers ease and affordable access to all New York is.  But Newark offers a taste of Big-Apple-style action in smaller more intimate bites. Before America was, Newark was already happening.  As an early outpost in the New World, it served from the beginning to bring together cultures and commerce.  Even then, it was a melting pot brimming with indigenous and imported foods, arts, music and entertainments.

   

Newark, New Jersey's largest city, is the leading industrial and financial center in the State. Containing a major maritime port, Newark is one of the great sea, truck, rail and air transportation hubs of the nation.

 
In the centuries since, Newark has continued to blossom, always renewing and reworking itself, always becoming something richer and more varied – a new work with each new arrival of people and promise. Each new face in its growth has given rise to a different facet of its overall character so that today’s Newark is multi-faceted – an endless parade of offerings, adventures and opportunities.  From America’s first and oldest public park to one of the country’s largest performing arts venue, from the state’s biggest museum to the continent’s 5th largest cathedral – pro sports, fine arts, urban retail and outdoor adventure, it’s all happening here. On any given day, you’ll find 25 different languages conversing over an even greater mix and melding of world cuisine and cultures. 

CANADA

A World of Possibilities

The red and white Canadian flag shows a leaf of the maple tree, which grows widely in North America. Canada provinces number 10, with three territories to the north (Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut). Each province and territory has its own unique draw for visitors. 

 

The 10 provinces in Canada, from west to east, followed by the territories are best known for:
1. British Columbia - Okanagan wine region, skiing, fishing, whale watching, golf and other outdoor adventures.
2. Alberta - Calgary Stampede, Edmonton Folk Festival, Edmonton Mall, Rocky Mountains, Head Smashed-In Buffalo Jump.
3. Saskatchewan - Fishing, hunting and other outdoor adventure.
4. Manitoba - Polar Bear Capital of the World, Le Festival du Voyageur, Folklorama.
5. Ontario - Algonquin Park, CN Tower, Niagara wine region, Bruce Trail, woods and lakes.
6. Quebec - French Culture / Language, Old Montreal, Plains of Abraham, skiing.
7. New Brunswick - Bay of Fundy, Appalachian Range, coastline, lighthouses.
8. Nova Scotia - Cabot Trail and other scenic drives, Celtic culture, Fortress of Louisbourg, fresh lobster dinners, coastline, Annapolis Valley.
9. Prince Edward Island - Anne of Green Gables.
10. Newfoundland & Labrador - Gros Morne National Park, the friendliness of the people, icebergs, whale watching.
11. Yukon - Northern lights, dog sledding, historic Klondike Gold Rush locations, Kluane National Park, midnight sun.
12. Northwest Territories - Northern lights, midnight sun, Nahanni River, outdoor adventure.
13. Nunavut - Canada's youngest territory or province.

CHRISTMAS ISLAND

Christmas Island is an island in the Indian Ocean, about 1,400 km northwest of Australia. Captain William Mynors of the East India Ship Company vessel, the Royal Mary, named the island when he arrived on Christmas Day, 25th December, 1643. It is administered as an external territory of Australia. The island is the summit of an oceanic mountain whose highest point on the island is Murray Hill, rising to 361 metres in the western part of the island. The island is only 52 square-miles in area. The main settlement and chief port is at Flying Fish Cove on the northeastern part of the island.

 Flying Fish Cove

Christmas Island is an impressive feat of nature full of natural wonders including red crab migrations, exotic birds and wonderfully deserted beaches who are only disturbed by nesting sea turtles. Fourteen species of land crab call Christmas Island home, but the red crab is by far the most famous. The narrow tropical reef that surrounds the island is laced with unspoiled corals and schools of colourful fish like anemones, butterfly fish, wrasse, surgeon and more. Occasionally, even sharks come up to divers to take a curious look.

fabulous stamps

Received from Christmas Island Tourism Association

DELAWARE WATER GAP

 The Delaware Water Gap, located in Monroe County in Northeastern Pennsylvania, and named after a magnificent natural wonder carved by the Delaware River. It is the best known feature of the park, a distinct notch cut into the Kittatinny Ridge by the Delaware River. Once touted as a scenic Wonder of the World, it is an impressive site when motoring through on Interstate 80 or viewed from the overlooks along PA 611. The Gap is about a quarter mile wide at river level and nearly a mile wide from the top of one mountain to the top of the other.

The Delaware Water Gap, seperating Pennsylvania and New Jersey, is one of the world's scenic wonders

The spectacular Delaware Water Gap has inspired and fascinated people for centuries. From the mid-19th through the early 20th century, Delaware Water Gap was one of the most popular summer resorts in the eastern United States. The recreation area encompasses 67,000 acres of mountain ridge, forest, and floodplain on both sides of the Delaware River in the states of New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Among the more surprising species of animals in the park are black bear, timber rattlesnakes, bald eagles, and, recently, nesting peregrine falcons. Ecosystems include hemlock ravines with bountiful rhododendron and ridgetops with prickly pear cactus.

KENTUCKY QUILT TRAIL

 Kentucky has long been known as a center for the sewing of colorful quilts in many patterns and designs. But over the past several years, painted quilt patterns on the sides of barns in Kentucky have emerged as a new form of self-expression and cultural pride for rural residents.

Kentucky residents have banded together to display a part of their cultural heritage in a statewide art project. In a conscious effort to lure tourists away from interstate highways, Mail Pouch Barn quilt artwork has turned rural roads into an eye-catching art gallery. Hundreds of unique eight by eight quilt panels have added a cheerful note on roadside buildings, floodwalls and rustic barns, creating a series of quilting trails. Elliott County in northeastern Kentucky probably has the most, with about 60 barns adorned with the patterns. In western Kentucky’s Pennyrile region, innovative quilt painters have started using metal to provide a longer life span for their patterns.

Each quilt tells a story & is a celebration of the state's quilting heritage 

Received from Tyler, "A Postcard for You"

NORFOLK ISLAND

 Norfolk Island is an island in the South Pacific Ocean and an Australian territory for historical reasons even though it is much closer to New Zealand. It is 1600km east of Sydney and Brisbane but only 1000km northwest of Auckland. The official language of Norfolk Island is English and all the islanders speak it. However, among themselves they often use Norfolk, a language derived from the English spoken by the Bounty Mutineers and the Tahitian spoken by their wives. 

The main attraction of the island consists of natural beauty: beautiful landscapes and wild seascapes. Almost a third of the island is devoted to reserves and national parks. The beaches need a mention as well, the cleanest salt water and softest sand imaginable, the surf here is pretty good too. Another fascinating aspect of Norfolk's heritage is that this is the home of the descendants of the mutineers of the Bounty.

Received from Norfolk Island Tourism.

 

 

MOSSEL BAY

Mossel Bay is situated exactly half way between Cape Town - the provincial capital of the Western Cape Province – and Port Elizabeth (both 400 km away). This popular holiday town is surrounded by a sunbathed peninsula and the refreshing waters of the Indian Ocean. It is a busy summer destination as well as an ideal winter retreat. It is blessed with a mild climate all year round but its most important feature is its status as the historical capital of the Garden Route.
Site of the first landfall made by the Portuguese explorer Bartholomeu Dias in 1488 and today a popular holiday resort with fine beaches and much else to offer the tourist. The Batholomeu Dias Museum Complex comprises historical, maritime and shell museums. Launch trips are offered to nearby Seal Island with its noisy population of some 2,000 seals as well as gannets and cormorants.

 

 

Mossel Bay has become the preferred holiday destination of local and international tourists alike and offers great fishing and safe swimming

Received from Lu-Gerda by The Post Office Tree.  For more information about Mossel Bay visit her blog Lu-Gerda's Travels.

COLUMBIA ICEFIELD

Straddling the boundary between the Canadian provinces of Alberta and British Columbia, the Columbia Icefield is the largest ice mass in North America, south of the Arctic Circle. Situated in the Canadian Rockies, this ice field covers an area of 130 square miles (365 sq. km.) and has a maximum depth of 1,200 feet (365 m), the height of the Empire State Building in New York City. The average elevation of the ice field is about 10,000 feet (3,000 m). It occupies a high, flat-lying plateau in the form of a huge massif. Its highest points are Mount Columbia at 12,284 feet (3745 m) and Mount Athabasca at 11,452 feet (3,491 m).The largest icefield south of Alaska, shimmering glacial ice and snow cover some 389 sq. km (233 sq. mi.).

The Columbia Icefield is a surviving remnant of the thick ice mass that once mantled most of Western Canada's mountains. Lying on a wide, elevated plateau, it is the largest icefield in the Canadian Rockies. Nearly three-quarters of the park's highest peaks are located close to the icefield; ideally placed to catch much of the moisture that Pacific winds carry across the British Columbia interior. Most of this precipitation falls as snow; up to 7 metres a year!

MAGIC SAND BEACH

 It is one of the few white sand beaches on Hawaii. This beach near Kona Town is named Magic Sands because the entire beach will regularly disappear and then return with the natural action of the ocean. Magic Sands is one of the nicer Kona Beaches, suitable for swimming, surfing, boogie boarding, even snorkeling and scuba diving.

The swimming conditions at Magic Sands are generally quite good, particularly when the sand is covering the beach. Even during the winter months when the shoreline has more rocks exposed, there is a sandy bottom in the water. A nice shore break creates some great waves when the surf is up, making La’aloa Bay another popular spot for boogie boarding and surfing. Crowds of people will often gather to relax on the beach and watch the waves roll in. This beach is very popular and gets pretty busy. In addition to water activities, there is a volleyball net and lots of room to  plant your own beach chair and umbrella.

Magic Sands Beach at La’aloa Bay south of Kona is home to a beautiful beach cove, known also as Disappearing Sands Beach, or White Sands Beach.

KELPIES

The Kelpies are located within “the Helix” park, Falkirk, situated between Glasgow and Edinburgh, Scotland. The Kelpies are one of the largest equine sculptures in the world, standing 30 metres tall. They are the landmark feature of The Helix Environmental Regeneration Scheme on the Forth and Clyde Canal near Falkirk on Central Scotland. They are the brain-child of sculptor Andy Scott, and will be the largest public artworks in Scotland. Construction of The Kelpies began on 17thJune 2013. The build was officially completed on 27th November 2013.

 

The Kelpies by numbers:

*300 tonnes each
*30 metres high
*1200 tonnes of steel-reinforced concrete foundations per head
*990 unique stainless steel skin-plates
*Built on site in 90 days.
For more information go to www.thekelpies.co.uk